The paper said Naisseline had sent an open letter to all signatories of the Nouméa Accord (pro-independence FLNKS, anti-independence RPCR and the French government) underlining the "difficulties" Kanak people face when they want to opt for use of customary law.

As a result of the Nouméa Accord, which was signed in May 1998, an organic law was passed in March 1999, allowing anyone wishing to do so to opt for "custom civil law" instead of common law.

But Naisseline, who is Maré’s Guahma district chief, is concerned that the law only provides five years for people to choose.

Mrs. Myriam Abel, of the Republic of Vanuatu, was elected Chairman by the 108th Session of the Executive Board of the World Health Organization (WHO) for the period 2001-2002.

Forty-nine-year old Mrs. Abel is from the Republic of Vanuatu. Since March 1999, Mrs. Abel has been Director of Public Health in Vanuatu’s Ministry of Health. After having completed nursing studies in 1972, she continued studying midwifery and pediatric nursing before going on to obtain a diploma in tropical health from the University of Queensland in Australia.

Mrs. Abel, who is a trainer and program coordinator, has occupied key public health positions in her country, which she has represented as an expert at major meetings. She has two children and is the youthful grandmother of three grandchildren.

Mrs. Abel will be assisted by three Vice-Chairmen and two Rapporteurs:

We, a group of citizens of Fiji, representing broad segments of our society, but expressing ourselves as individuals, met on 18-19 May 2001 in a third talanoa to promote national unity and stability through conciliatory dialogue and action. The talanoa process continues to provide the opportunity to come together in the spirit of multi-ethnic cooperation to constructively address vital challenges to the country's well-being.

Our talanoa is based on the principles of reconciliation, inclusion, sincerity, honesty, respect for each other as individuals, respect for the rich indigenous and other cultural traditions domiciled in Fiji, and respect for our national assets and institutions including spirituality, human values, aspirations for economic and social justice, and basic constitutional principles.

PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea (May 31, 2001 – The National)---Bougainville should have an autonomous government by early next year, a confident Bougainville People’s Congress president, Joseph Kabui, said yesterday.

The negotiations currently under way in Port Moresby have delayed the program slightly, with the first amendments to go before Parliament in September and not July.

Mr. Kabui told The National at Tubusereia village outside Port Moresby, that it would have been "really ideal" to complete the talks last week but the issues of police and defense had to be ironed out thoroughly.

"The first (Parliament) reading starts in September, second reading in November and we will be happy to have an autonomous government in the first quarter of 2002 before the national elections in June or July," he said.

He said the Bougainville delegation was happy with the way Bougainville Affairs Minister Moi Avei was keeping everybody on their...

TO LAND MOBILIZATION TO EXPROPRIATION:
IS MELANESIA THE WORLD BANK/IMF'S LATEST VICTIM?

By A World Bank Watcher

INTRODUCTION: WHAT IS AT STAKE?

Land tenure is at the very heart of the struggles for power and independence in Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu. Control over the land gives Melanesians economic independence from the international companies as well as from the economic superpowers (the U.S., Europe, Japan, China, and their client states like Malaysia, Singapore, etc.) and the international banks (such as the World Bank) that represent the interests of these companies in Melanesia and other ‘developing’ countries.

As a wage worker, if a Papua New Guinean, a Solomon Islander, or a ni Vanuatu finds the pay too low or working conditions unacceptable, she or he can always go back to the village, where most basic needs can be satisfied with little or no need for money. In order to force Melanesians to accept the...

Drugs, legal and illegal, should be coming to the forefront of our thinking this week.

A drug is something that is addictive; that keeps you coming back for more, even when you know it is bad for you. And that certainly goes for cigarettes, marijuana, cocaine, heroin and the like.

Some would say alcohol is just as addictive, but authorities the world over have despaired of tackling the last-named, ever since Al Capone’s gangsters made life hard for police in the U.S. in the 1930s.

Today is World No-Tobacco Day and health experts are bombing the community with facts and figures on the perils of smoking.

At the same time, Police Commissioner John Wakon is speaking of the Constabulary’s plans to tackle the peddling of harmful drugs to our people.

NOUMÉA, New Caledonia (May 29, 2001 - Oceania Flash/SPC)---New Caledonia's local education officials are currently working on a reform measure designed to remedy a current shortage of an estimated 200 primary school teachers, the daily newspaper Les Nouvelles Calédoniennes reports.

On January 1, 2000, primary schools become the first government sector to be handed over to local authorities from metropolitan France, as part of the implementation the Nouméa Accord.

There are approximately 26,000 primary school pupils and 1,300 teachers in the public primary education sector.

Under the transfer of powers, France is providing financial assistance for implementation of the reform.

Although the transfer that started last year is considered to be progressing smoothly, the main concern is the number of teachers available.

"Until then, we had three different training schemes. This had to stop. Teachers need to feel valuable and to identify...

This new website examines press coverage of HIV/AIDS in Papua New Guinea and several other South Pacific countries including Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Tahiti, New Caledonia and Micronesia.

With the increasing spread of HIV/AIDS in the South Pacific region, it is vital that everyone unites in an effort to contain and slow the epidemic. The press, in particular, is well placed to influence public opinion about the disease. It is vital that it finds different ways to inform and educate the public about this serious health threat. Since it is a difficult story to tell due to various cultural, political and newspaper practices, it is important to discover ways to overcome these obstacles.

The website contains the doctoral thesis of Rev. Dr. Trevor Cullen from the Journalism Department of Queensland University,...

Pacific Islands Report is a nonprofit news publication of the Pacific Islands Development Program at the East-West Center in Honolulu, Hawai‘i. Offered as a free service to readers, PIR provides an edited digest of news, commentary and analysis from across the Pacific Islands region, Monday - Friday.